Cuts in asking prices reach six-year peak as market may be stalling

More stock and longer times on the market are combining to create a surge in asking price reductions according to a market monitor.

A website which analyses some 500,000 asking prices each month, excluding those properties priced above £1m - has issued a series of statistics to illustrate the current state of the market, which it describes as “threatening to stall”.

For example, there’s been a major increase in the number of homes on sale compared to this time last year.

Across the UK as a whole there’s 11 per cent more homes for sale than in June 2017 with the East of England showing a 20 per cent rise and the South West an even larger 21 per cent increase. The stock of homes on sale is now at its highest level since July 2015.

Typical ‘Time on Market’ is rising too, as a result - it’s 14 per cent longer in London than a year ago, while in the South East the increase is 15 per cent and in the East of England it’s 17 per cent longer.

Typical Time on Market for England and Wales combined is now an average of 81 days, which is three days longer than in June 2017.

The same web site says that even so, prices have risen in all English regions, Scotland and Wales since last month, with the exception of London where there was no change. But while back in June last year the annualised rate of increase of home prices was 2.8 per cent, today the same measure is just 1.4 per cent.

However, price cutting has also surged with the number of on-market reductions in May reaching a level last seen in October 2012.

The website agin says that the market is entering a slowdown phase in the property cycle - although it warns that this message has not yet reached many of the vendors that placed their properties on the market last month with optimistically high prices. But the site says the time to ‘cash in’ at the top has probably passed for many vendors.

“Prime Central London vendors have known this for some time but this new reality is just dawning on the majority. Of course, there are areas where property prices are still in their ascendancy in real terms and even some where they have yet to really take off (for example, the North East). However, they are few and becoming fewer” the site warns.